Freedom and Musk
by BuzzCat
Summary: Darcy and Steve go walking. Darcy makes a waitress jealous, catches Steve in a lie, and discovers that his jacket smells like freedom and musk.


Darcy stood at the bus stop, debating whether it was worth risking electric shock to bring out her iPhone. It was absolutely pouring, had been all day. And she, naturally, had left her umbrella in Asgard. Thor had told her that it was going to rain the last time she and Jane had gone to visit and Darcy had brought it along because, you know, rain…umbrella. What Thor had failed to mention was that in Asgard, it rained rocks. Not little pebbles, but finger-to-fist sized rocks. It sucked majorly until the denser warriors had a competition of who could stay out there longest, wearing full armor. Then it was a game of 'who can take off their helmet and not get hit'. Thor had won.

Of course, all of that didn't help the fact that Darcy had worn a white shirt and it now clung to her enough to the point that taxis slowed when they passed. Darcy was tempted to flag one down, but it simply wasn't worth it. Besides, the cabbie would undoubtedly crash the car trying to watch her in the rear view mirror. The bus would be safer.

As if summoned by the thoughts of dealing with public transportation, Steve Rogers appeared beside Darcy, a large black umbrella spread over both their heads. Steve grinned at her,

"Can I walk you home?" he said. Darcy smiled until she thought her face would split in two,

"Yeah." They turned and started walking, Steve leading the way. It was only a moment before Darcy asked,

"How do you know where I live? Not that I'm not grateful for the company, but..."

"We actually live in the same building. I saw you getting the paper the other day." said Steve. Darcy nodded,

"Oh." Somehow she was surprised that she had never run into him. But then again, being Captain America leant itself to publicity and Darcy couldn't exactly blame the guy if he did his best to sneak in and out of the apartment building. Just then, Darcy was pulled from her thoughts by a loud whistle across the street. She turned to see a group of obviously drunk men eying her. The whistler shouted across the street,

"Bit _nippy_ for a shirt like that, ain't it? C'mon over here darling. We can get you all warmed up." Steve opened his mouth, clearly about to defend her honor, before Darcy shouted back,

"Why don't you warm up a tin can of fuck you!"

"I hope so!" called back the man while his cohorts laughed.

"Go back to whatever inbred cesspool you crawled out of and deepthroat your cousin!" shouted Darcy. This statement was followed by an awkward silence as Darcy turned around in a huff and started walking again, this time much faster. Steve likewise quicked his pace to keep up. When they had rounded the corner and the drunkards were no longer in sight, he asked quietly,

"Does that happen to you often?"

"Is the grass green?" asked Darcy with a snort, then she shrugged, "You get used to it after a while. Mostly I just say something ridiculous until they are confused into silence."

"Well, it seems to work." said Steve. Darcy nodded,

"Generally, yeah." They continued walking in silence, Darcy focussing on what to make for dinner that night and Steve glaring at every passing man whose gaze rested on Darcy's chest. Eventually, Steve stopped walking. Darcy paused just before she left the safety of the umbrella,

"What is it?"

"Here," he said, handing Darcy the umbrella. She took it and watched as Steve shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to Darcy, "put that on."

"You don't have to do that." said Darcy, although she was already reaching for the jacket. It was freezing and Darcy knew that her nipples where visibly hard through her shirt. Plus, the creepy part of her brain wondered what Captain America smelled like. Freedom and musk, probably. As soon as Darcy put the jacket on, she knew she was right. Definitely freedom and musk. The warmth of the fluffy lining instantly warmed her and Darcy smiled at Steve, blushing, "Thanks."

"You are most welcome. Plus, I didn't want to have to beat up anyone."

"Captain America, protecting lowly coffee-fetchers from street harrassment. My hero." she said. Steve smiled and took the umbrella back from Darcy,

"Shall we continue?"

"Yes. But let's stop off at the corner here. There's a diner and they make the best pancakes."

"Sounds like a plan." said Steve. The two walked until the corner, stepping into the diner as Steve carefully closed the umbrella so as not to bring bad luck nor drench the bystanders. Darcy led them to a booth and they were barely sitting down before a chipper waitress appeared, ponytail bobbing and white teeth sparkling like fangs in the fluorescent lights,

"Hello, I'm Becky! What can I get for you?"

"Two coffees, thanks." said Darcy. Steve nodded and smiled. Darcy could almost hear Becky melting at that face and the way his eyes would sparkle just so sometimes. Darcy tried really hard not to roll her eyes, but failed. Steve, thankfully, didn't notice. Darcy didn't want to have to explain her exasperation to him. Becky giggled and walked away and Darcy almost bent her spoon in half trying not to injure someone as the girl obviously swung her hips more than absolutely necessary. Steve was digging in his pockets and didn't see it. He pulled out a pen and grabbed his napkin. Darcy gave him a questioning look and he said,

"The customer behind you, they have a really interesting, uh," Steve gestured vaguely with his pen, "neck curve. I wanted to get it before I forgot it." he said. Darcy nodded,

"Do you want me to move a bit so you can get a better angle?"

"No! No, you're just fine right there." said Steve. Darcy nodded, then dug around in her purse before she located her iPhone. If Steve was going to draw, it meant that conversation probably wasn't going to happen. Which was a good thing, because otherwise Darcy might forget that this was simply a meeting of colleagues to get food after work and stay out of the rain and not a date. Darcy was most definitely not on a date with Captain America, who was currently occupied drawing someone else's neck. Darcy pulled up her YouTube and prepared to watch silent funny cat videos. Before the first one was done loading, however, Becky the waitress returned. It did not escape Darcy's attention that an extra button had mysteriously come undone on the waitress's shirt. Darcy, however, just felt smug and secure in the knowledge that this amature had nothing on her ample cleavage. Just to prove her point, Darcy stretched, pushing her arms as far above her head as possible. She knew that it stretched the shirt tight across her chest and smirked when she saw Becky shoot her a nasty look. The coffees were placed on the table with more force than warranted. Becky turned to Steve and said in what was obviously her most seductive non-bedroom voice,

"Is there anything else I can get you? Anything at all?"

"Nope, I'm good. Darcy?" said Steve, not taking his eyes off of what he was drawing. Becky, undeterred, ignored Darcy's "I'm good" and said,

"Nothing at all? You sure? My phone number, maybe?" she said, fluttering her lashes. Darcy wanted to puke. Steve looked away from what he was drawing, a flush spreading from his neck up,

"Um, I'm sorry. I don't...I'm not...I just got out of a long-term relationship." he said. The waitress's smile instantly lost its genuineness and she shook her head,

"Not a problem at all. Were you ready to order?"

"I think so. Darcy?" said Steve, looking at her.

"I'm ready if you are. I'll have the Pancake Special. Scrambled eggs, bacon not sausage, and extra maple syrup. Steve?"

"Same, but can I get a side of fresh fruit?" he said, closing his menu.

"Sure. I'll put that in for you." She walked away and Darcy saw her hands come up to rebutton the top of her shirt. She turned back to Steve, smirking,

"Long term relationship, huh?" His face instantly assumed his too-innocent expression, which meant he was up to something.

"It was a long term relationship. With ice." Darcy, who had been drinking her coffee, snorted and Steve laughed. Darcy couldn't help herself,

"Did it freeze your heart and make you feel like you'd never love again?" she said dramatically, waiting to see his reaction to the pun. Steve's face lost its jovial quality and he was instantly lost in sepia-toned memories as he said in a far away voice,

"Yes, yes it did." Darcy sighed and took another sip of coffee. She never knew what would send him straight back to his pre-frozen life. Steve said nothing and quietly went back to sketching. Becky said nothing as she dropped off their food and walked away. Darcy put her down her phone and Steve his pen as both dug in to their food. Darcy glanced over at the napkin Steve had been doodling on and dropped her fork. It clattered to the plate as she said,

"You lying liar! That's not a neck curve!" Before Steve could stop her, Darcy had grabbed the napkin and was examining it. It was her, but not like she was. This her was beautiful, kind eyes and a quirked smile that was too cute to actually be hers. Steve blushed and gently pulled the napkin from her hands,

"The lighting was perfect and I didn't want to be...creepy."

"Because drawing me without my permission is so much less creepy than drawing me with permission. Yep, that logic totally rings true." Steve looked down at his drawing. Darcy bit her lip, then tentatively covered his hand with hers, "Hey. I'm not mad. It's really good. I'm...honored." Steve's eyes darted up to her,

"There's more."

"What?" asked Darcy. Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket and Darcy could almost see the thought process of "_In for a penny, in for a pound"_,

"Drawings. Of you."

"And you have pictures on your phone?" she asked. Steve nodded, Darcy wiped her hands on her napkin,

"Well then, if you're cool with it, gimme." Steve handed her his phone and Darcy saw his hands fidgeting on the table. As Darcy scrolled through his pictures, she couldn't help but be amazed. So many little moments of their conversations, captured on paper. In some Darcy was looking out the window, others looking at something with Jane. Darcy scrolled to the next and stopped. It was her, laughing. She knew that this one must have taken him ages, since her laughing face changed so quickly from polite mirth to ridiculous giggles. It was only when Steve cleared his throat that Darcy looked up at him. He was looking just past her shoulder, resolutely avoiding her eyes,

"I apologize that I've done this without your permission. If you want to go home, you can take the umbrella." Darcy shook her head,

"I don't want to leave. I'm just curious as to why."

"'Why'?"

"Why me." she clarified. Steve shook his head and it was clear he was struggling for the right way to properly express himself,

"When I woke up, it was hard. Everything was different. I tried to draw, but I couldn't. There was always something wrong with the picture or the original I was drawing. Something was wrong, like an itch you can't quite reach, and I didn't want to draw. Then I started talking to you, even just seeing you, and it all came flooding in. I wanted to draw everything about you. Because you made it perfect." Steve's eyes flicked up to meet Darcy's. Darcy could only sit there in silence for a moment before responding very eloquently,

"Oh. Okay."

"'Okay'?"

"That makes sense. Sort of." Steve raised an eyebrow and Darcy's hands came up to wave away his skepticism, "Once you meet an alien god, an American icon, and Tony Stark, your idea of what makes sense kinda changes."

"Fair enough." said Steve, shrugging. He picked up his fork and started eating. Darcy smirked and continued eating as well. Between bites, she said,

"You know, as great as these are, I can't imagine what you could do with a subject who actually held still."

"Oh yeah?" said Steve, holding her gaze. Darcy did her best to shrug nonchalantly,

"Yeah. I mean, if we ever had time over coffee or something. You know, pose and draw for twenty minutes, drink and eat for ten. Stagger it."

"I don't know. I mean, as an artist, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. This could take hours. We'd probably have to break it up into a couple of sessions. Coffee might end up running in to dinner. Dinner with, you know, cloth napkins." he said. Darcy smiled warmly and took another sip of coffee. She leaned in slightly,

"I think I can take it." Darcy relaxed back into her chair, letting Steve's jacket cover her further and enjoying the scent of freedom and musk, "Besides, you might have to paint me like one of your French girls."

"I understood that reference." said Steve, an undoubtedly smug smirk spreading across his face. Darcy's smile only widened,

"Good."


End file.
